Airship-propeller.



A.JACOBSON AIRSHIP PROPELLER. APPLICATION FILED SEPT-5, i911.

'l 274,886. Patented Aug. 6,1918.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY I the correlated similar and correspon TED @TATEs pymjnm crates AUGUST JACOIBSON, OF ALVINA, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR or ONE-THIRD T0 HENRY v.

NURMI, OF VIRGINIA, MINNESOTA.

AIRSHIP-PROPELLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 5, 1917. Serial No. 189,819.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that L-Aoous'r JAooBsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Alvina, in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Airship-Propellers, of which the following isa specification.

This invention has relation to propellers for aeroplanes, airships, or the like, and the nature and objects thereof will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which it 'appertains in the light of the'following explanation of the accompanying drawings, illustrating what I now believe-to be the preferred embodiment, or mechanical expression, of my invention, from among other forms and arrangements within the spirit thereof, or the scope of the appended claims. However,-an object of the invention is to provide a propeller for the purpose set forth and including a main propeller constructed substantially in a conventional manner, but embodying and having associated therewith one or more auxiliary propellers, an independently operating means therefor whereby the speed of the main propeller and the auxiliary propeller or propellers may be varied with relation to each other, so as, to acquire various degrees of traction for the machine, or for utilizing all of said propellers simultaneously so as to gregate' of -p eller.

In addition'to the foregoing, my invention comprehends improvements in'the detailsof construction, and arrangement of partsto be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims. In the accompanyin drawings in which (Ting parts are designated by the same characters of reference throughout the several" views in which they appear:

Figure. 1, is a view in front elevation of a propeller arrangement constructed after the manner of my invention, and

. Fig. 2, is a detail sectional view taken-on the line 22 of the.preceding figure.

With reference to the drawings, 1 indicates' the hub of an aeroplane or airship propeller, and 2 the o positely directed and alined blades thereo constituting the main the tractive effect on each pro- ,each propeller, and an auxili gain the agnecessary to illustrate propeller of my invention. For the purposes of the present invention, the main propeller shaft 3 is of a tubular construction for a purpose which will be presently obvious.

Adjacent the outer extremity of each blade, and upon the forward faces thereof, I provide an auxiliary propeller 4 journaled for rotation about an axis, preferably parallel to the axis of the main propeller shaft 3.

Each auxiliary propeller 4;, is provided with an auxiliary propeller bevel gear 5 rotatable therewith and secured to the under side of I ary propeller operating shaft 6 is extended longitudinally along the forward face of each main-propeller blade 2, and mounted for rotation in bearings 7 secured to said blades 2.

The outer terminal of each shaft 6' adjacent its corresponding auxiliary propeller is provided with an auxiliary propeller operating shaftbevel gear 8 adapted for meshlng engagement with the adjacent bevel gear t is An auxihary 5, while the oppositeend of each sha provided with a bevel gear 9.

propeller shaft 10 is extended centrally through the tubularmain propeller shaft 3,

through the hubl, and its projected "end provided wit-l1 a bevel gear 11 adapted for meshing-engagement atdiametrically oppo site points with the aforesaid gears 9. The

'main propeller shaft 3' may be provided at its rearward end with a-sprocket 12, andthe auxiliary,propellershaft 1 0 13 each' independently operable through the Patented Aug, 6, 1918.

with a sprocket medium of chains 14 and 15 respectively from a source of power. It is not considered the mechanism whereby each of said shafts is'rotated Independently, the object and operation of the invention .will be readily understood, if it is I borne in' mind that the shafts are independent-ly operable, and either maybe rotated, while the other is stationary.

In view of the foregoing, it will be obvions that if the main propeller is rotated through the medium of its tubular shaft 3, in the direction of the arrow as indicated in Fig. 1, and the central shaft 10 held sta tionary, the auxiliary propellers will have imparted thereto a rotative motion in the direction of the arrows. It will be quite evident therefore that the tractive effect of that imparted the main propeller is amplified by the rotation of the auxiliary propellers which in their turn exert a certain amount of tractive force depending upon their dimensions and speed of rotation.

Should it become desirable to increase the speed of the aeroplane, airship, etc., over to it by operating the main and auxiliary propellers as above set forth, the central shaft 10 may have imparted thereto rotation in a direction opposite to the rotation of the main shaft 3, thereupon the auxiliary propellers will have imparted thereto an increased speed of rotation, adding their tractive force to the traction of the main propeller;

Thisarrangement ofpropellers admits of a further method ofoperation to cause a reduction of speed of the aeroplane, etc., during rotation of the main and auxiliary pro pellers without stopping rotation of the main propeller. Thus, assuming that the main propeller is in rotation, with the auxiliary propeller shaft 10 held stationary, so as to cause rotation of the auxiliary propeller ac- 7 first set forth if the cording to the method auxiliary propeller shaft 10 is set in motion in a direction corresponding to the motion 2 of the main propeller shaft, the auxiliary propeller shafts will be retarded in their motion relative to the blades on which they are mounted, to such anextent as to either such relative motion, or to produce a motion of the auxiliary propellers in an entirely opposite direction thereby exerting what may be termed a back pressure upon the aeroplane, etc., thereby reducing its speed, without reducing the speed of rotation of the main propeller.

. v The relative relation of the main and auxiliary propellers as herein illustrated, is suitable for either the monoplane type of aeroplane wherein the propeller is located at the forward end, orthe biplane type wherein the propeller is located at therear of the machine and isdesigned to urge the same forward by a. repelling reaction upon the an.v

While I have illustrated and described my invention with some degree ofparticularity,

, I realize that in practice various-alterations thereof may be made, and I therefore reserve the right and privilege of changing the form of the details of construction, or otherwise altering the arrangement of the correlated parts without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope or.

the appended claims.

Having hus desoribed'rny invention what propeller,

I claim as new and desire to secure by Let: ters Patent is 1. An airship propeller including a main propeller, auxiliary propellers revolubly mounted upon the blades thereof, and

means for rotating said auxiliary propellersfor rotating the auxiliary propellers in unison, and independently cf the main propeller.

4. An airship propeller including a main auxiliary propellers revolubly mounted upon the blades thereof, and means for rotating the auxiliary propellers in unison and independently of the main propeller, whereby the tractive effect of the main propeller may be partly counteracted ;by rotation of the auxiliary propellers.

5. An airship propeller including a main propeller, auxiliary propellers revolubly mounted on the blades thereof, an auxiliary propeller shaft concentricallyv disposed with relation to the axis of rotation of the main propeller, and means operable by rotation of said auxiliary propeller shaft for rotating the propellers.

6. An airship propeller including a main propeller, auxiliary propellers rovolubly mounted on the blades thereof, an auxilauxiliary propellers till iary propeller shaft mounted concentrically 1 with relation to main propeller, a bevel gear on said propeller shaft, auxiliary propeller operating shafts, extending longitudinally of the mam propeller blades, gears on the inner ends of said shafts meshing with the' aforesaid bevel gears, bevel gears fixedly secured to the opposite ends of said auxiliary propeller operating shaft, and bevel gears on each auxiliary propeller, rotatable therewith, and having meshing engagement With the last. mentioned bevel gears whereby said auxiliary propellers may be rotated by rotation of said auxiliary propeller shaft independently of the main propelle lln testimony whereof I aifix my-signature in presence of twowitnesses.

AUGUST JACOBSQN.

Witnesses;

H. J. MAI-LARD,

H. V. NURMI. 

